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Armour Square
Community area
Community Area 34 - Armour Square
Map of Armour Square
Map of Armour Square
Location within the city of Chicago
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates: 41°50.0′N 87°38.0′W / 41.8333°N 87.6333°W / 41.8333; -87.6333Coordinates: 41°50.0′N 87°38.0′W / 41.8333°N 87.6333°W / 41.8333; -87.6333
Country United States
State Illinois
County Cook
City Chicago
Neighborhoods
Area
 • Total 0.99 sq mi (2.56 km2)
Population (2010)
 • Total 13,391
 • Density 14,000/sq mi (5,200/km2)
Demographics 2010[1]
 • White 12.26%
 • Black 10.6%
 • Hispanic 3.47%
 • Asian 72.59%
 • Other 1.08%
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes parts of 60609 and 60616
Median household income $27,619[2]
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

Armour Square is both the name of a Chicago neighborhood on the city's South Side, as well as the larger, officially defined community area that the neighborhood is located in. The Armour Square community area also includes Chinatown and the CHA Wentworth Gardens housing project. The Armour Square area is bordered by Bridgeport to the west and Bronzeville to the east, with Pilsen and the near South Side bordering the area to the north and Fuller Park bordering its southernmost boundary along Pershing Road.

Armour Square neighborhood[edit]

Bounded by 18th Street to the north, Pershing Road to the south, the Union Pacific railroad tracks on the west and the Dan Ryan Expressway to the east, Armour Square has historically been the predominantly white, working-class neighborhood with a particularly significant population of both Italian-Americans and Croatian-Americans.[3] With its location being immediately south of Chinatown, today the neighborhood also has a large Asian population as well.[4] Armour Square's most recognizable landmarks are the historic Armour Square Park and nearby US Cellular Field, which sits at the southeast corner of W.35th and Shields Avenue, on the neighborhood's southernmost end. US Cellular is home to the Major League Baseball franchise, the Chicago White Sox. There are three Catholic parishes in Armour Square: Santa Lucia, St. Therese Catholic Community at 218 W Alexander St., and St. Jerome Croatian Catholic Church. The southernmost census tract in the area (3406) is 99% black or African American.[5]

Chicago White Sox[edit]

In 1900, Charles Comiskey moved his St. Paul Saints to Chicago, where they became the team now known as the Chicago White Sox. They began play at the South Side Park on 39th Street in Armour Square, and have remained in the neighborhood ever since. No other major professional sports franchise has played in the same neighborhood longer than the White Sox.[6] In 1910, Comiskey Park opened just 4 blocks north of South Side Park on a site that was formerly a junkyard.[7] The Park remained the home of the Sox until 1990, when it was the oldest park in Major League Baseball.[8] The new Comiskey Park, currently known as U.S. Cellular Field, opened in 1991 across 35th Street from the old ballpark.[9] Comiskey Park was then demolished in 1991 and converted into a parking lot. A plaque embedded in the asphalt marks the spot where home plate was on the original field.[10]

Chinatown[edit]

Main article: Chinatown, Chicago
The Chinatown Gate in Chinatown, Chicago, Illinois.

Chinatown is in the near South Side (located in the Armour Square community area), centered on and around Cermak and Wentworth Avenues, and is an example of an American Chinatown, or ethnic-Chinese neighborhood.

It is not to be confused with an area sometimes called "New Chinatown", which is on the North Side around Argyle Street, and which has a larger number of Southeast Asians.

Mass transit stations[edit]

Armour Square is served by the Dan Ryan branch of the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line, with stops at Cermak-Chinatown and Sox-35th.

Historical population
Census Pop.
1930 21,450
1940 18,472 −13.9%
1950 23,294 26.1%
1960 15,783 −32.2%
1970 13,063 −17.2%
1980 12,475 −4.5%
1990 10,801 −13.4%
2000 12,032 11.4%
2010 13,391 11.3%
[11]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Paral, Rob. "Chicago Demographics Data". Retrieved 12 June 2012. 
  2. ^ Paral, Rob. "Chicago Census Data". Retrieved 9 October 2012. 
  3. ^ http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/71.html
  4. ^ http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Armour-Square-Chicago-IL.html
  5. ^ "American Fact Finder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-11-25. 
  6. ^ Bova, George. "Sox Fan's Guide to Sox Uniforms". White Sox Interactive. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  7. ^ "Beginnings". White Sox Interactive. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  8. ^ "Reinsdorf: Rebirth And Death". White Sox Interactive. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  9. ^ "Progress? New Comiskey Park". White Sox Interactive. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  10. ^ "The Parking Lot". White Sox Interactive. Retrieved 14 April 2013. 
  11. ^ Paral, Rob. "Chicago Community Areas Historical Data". Chicago Community Areas Historical Data. Retrieved 29 August 2012. 


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